Face Lift Surgery

The face is one of the most cosmetically sensitive areas of the body. The face lets us show emotion and is the part of the body our eyes naturally fix on. In life the effects of the passing years show most quickly here, often accelerated by smoking and sun exposure. The good news is that many techniques are available to reduce the signs of aging. These techniques can rejuvenate the appearance of the face, neck and the eyes. One of the main techniques is a Face Lift also known as a Rhytidoplasty. There is different variations of a Face Lift depending on the look you wish to achieve.

Full Face Lift

A Face Lift is performed under general anaesthetic and normally takes around 2 – 3 hours.

The technique your surgeon chooses to use will depend on which area of the face/neck are being lifted.

SMAS Facelift

Your consultant plastic surgeon will make an incision on both sides of you face in the hairline around your ears. They will then cut under the deep layer of tissue (SMAS or superficial muscula-aponeurotic system layer), lifting and tightening it. This allows the consultant to then tighten your skin towards the ears and remove any excess facial skin.

MACS Facelift

A MACS or Minimal Access Cranial Suspension face lift involves a small incision behind the ear. Your consultant plastic surgeon will then tighten the SMAS layer with special suspension stitches to avoid cutting underneath it. Although this method requires a less complex surgical technique the results do not last as long.

Mid Face Lift

A Mid Face Lift is used to address the areas below your lower eyelids and over the cheekbone. The procedure inv0lves your consultant plastic surgeon making small incisions along your hairline and wither inside your mouth or in your lower eyelid. They will then use special equipment to stitch and lift your cheeks, lifting the middle of your face.

Mini Face Lift

Some clinics offer a ‘Mini’ Facelift, however our consultants have all agreed that the results are short lasting and the improvement is minimal. So we do not offer this here.

Thread Facelift

At Confidence we also offer a Thread or Tape facelift in Glasgow using technology from a company called Endotine. This procedure only requires a small incision in the hairline and another small incision in the mouth. Recovery time is minimal and most people are back at work within a week and the procedure leaves no discernable scars. It features a long, thin, soft flexible tape with tines (cleats), to grasp the cheek tissue gently but securely and elevate it (and all overlying cheek tissue layers) to a new position and a special device similar to an endoscope tube to insert the tape / ribbon. Once implanted, the tape gradually absorbs into the face until it is completely gone, an improvement over permanent, non-absorbable sutures, which remain implanted forever.

The Organic Face Lift

Fat transfer or fat grafting has been used in many areas of the body, which have lost volume, to enhance and reshape the area. The technique involves fat being harvested from one part of the body most commonly the abdomen, processed and the transferred into the area in which is to be enhanced.

Fat transfer or grafting has been used for a long time to enhance facial features and retrieve volume lost with age. Fat grafting utilizes your own fat tissue from one area to be reintroduced into your face. The process involves fat being harvested from one area of your body and injected into your face, where volume is required. The procedure is non-invasive and therefore less virtually no scarring. In order for the procedure to be successful the fat must survive in the area in which it is injected. It is thought that on average 70% of the injected fat survives and 30% is lost. This differs from individual to individual and your consultant will discuss in more detail at your consultation. The fat that survives is there for life, which is why it is often refereed to as an ‘organic’ face lift.